Publications

When the past is contested by political actors, it can play a notable role both in present and in future politics. This is especially true when it comes to the memory of dominant parties, which are part and parcel of political and national history. Focusing on dominant parties in parliamentary democracies, this article examines the memory dynamics of a dominant party after its demise and highlights the importance of memory modes in understanding these dynamics. Using theories of collective memory, it identifies four possible modes of memory in a post-dominance era, suggesting discursive and power-related indications for each mode. The article then utilizes this framework to examine the memory of Mapai, the once-dominant party in Israel. On the basis of this analysis, the authors propose hypotheses concerning the comparative cases of Sweden, Italy, and Japan.

The value is a solution concept for n-person strategic games, developed by Nash,
Shapley, and Harsanyi. The value of a game is an a priori evaluation of the economic
worth of the position of each player, reflecting the players’ strategic possibilities,
including their ability to make threats against one another. Applications of the value in economics have been rare, at least in part because the existing definition (for games with more than two players) consists of an ad hoc scheme that does not easily lend itself to computation. This paper makes three contributions: We provide an axiomatic foundation for the value; exhibit a simple formula for its computation; and extend the value—its definition, axiomatic characterization, and computational formula—to Bayesian games. We then apply the value in simple models of corruption, oligopolistic competition, and information sharing.

By complexing with hydrophobic compounds, cyclodextrins afford increased solubility and thermodynamic stability to hardly soluble compounds, thereby underlining their invaluable applications in pharmaceutical and other industries. However, common cyclodextrins such as β-cyclodextrin, suffer from limited solubility in water, which often leads to precipitation and formation of unfavorable aggregates, driving the search for better solvents. Here, we study the solvation of cyclodextrin in deep eutectic solvents (DESs), environmentally friendly media that possess unique properties. We focus on reline, the DES formed from choline chloride and urea, and resolve the mechanism through which its constituents elevate β-cyclodextrin solubility in hydrated solutions compared to pure water or dry reline. Combining experiments and simulations, we determine that the remarkable solubilization of β-cyclodextrin in hydrated reline is mostly due to the inclusion of urea inside β-cyclodextrin’s cavity and at its exterior surfaces. The role of choline chloride in further increasing solvation is twofold. First, it increases urea’s solubility beyond the saturation limit in water, ultimately leading to much higher β-cyclodextrin solubility in hydrated reline in comparison to aqueous urea solutions. Second, choline chloride increases urea’s accumulation in β-cyclodextrin’s vicinity. Specifically, we find that the accumulation of urea becomes stronger at high reline concentrations, as the solution transitions from reline-in-water to water-in-reline, where water alone cannot be regarded as the solvent. Simulations further suggest that in dry DES, the mechanism of β-cyclodextrin solvation changes so that reline acts as a quasi-single component solvent that lacks preference for the accumulation of urea or choline chloride around β-cyclodextrin.

By complexing with hydrophobic compounds, cyclodextrins afford increased solubility and thermodynamic stability to hardly soluble compounds, thereby underlining their invaluable applications in pharmaceutical and other industries. However, common cyclodextrins such as β-cyclodextrin, suffer from limited solubility in water, which often leads to precipitation and formation of unfavorable aggregates, driving the search for better solvents. Here, we study the solvation of cyclodextrin in deep eutectic solvents (DESs), environmentally friendly media that possess unique properties. We focus on reline, the DES formed from choline chloride and urea, and resolve the mechanism through which its constituents elevate β-cyclodextrin solubility in hydrated solutions compared to pure water or dry reline. Combining experiments and simulations, we determine that the remarkable solubilization of β-cyclodextrin in hydrated reline is mostly due to the inclusion of urea inside β-cyclodextrin’s cavity and at its exterior surfaces. The role of choline chloride in further increasing solvation is twofold. First, it increases urea’s solubility beyond the saturation limit in water, ultimately leading to much higher β-cyclodextrin solubility in hydrated reline in comparison to aqueous urea solutions. Second, choline chloride increases urea’s accumulation in β-cyclodextrin’s vicinity. Specifically, we find that the accumulation of urea becomes stronger at high reline concentrations, as the solution transitions from reline-in-water to water-in-reline, where water alone cannot be regarded as the solvent. Simulations further suggest that in dry DES, the mechanism of β-cyclodextrin solvation changes so that reline acts as a quasi-single component solvent that lacks preference for the accumulation of urea or choline chloride around β-cyclodextrin.

Oxytocin is a neuropeptide that binds copper ions in nature. The structure of oxytocin in interaction with Cu²⁺ was determined here by NMR, showing which atoms of the peptide are involved in binding. Paramagnetic relaxation enhancement NMR analyses indicated a binding mechanism where the amino terminus was required for binding and subsequently Tyr2, Ile3 and Gln4 bound in that order. The aromatic ring of Tyr2 formed a π-cation interaction with Cu²⁺. Oxytocin copper complex structure revealed by paramagnetic relaxation enhancement NMR analyses.

Oxytocin is a neuropeptide that binds copper ions in nature. The structure of oxytocin in interaction with Cu²⁺ was determined here by NMR, showing which atoms of the peptide are involved in binding. Paramagnetic relaxation enhancement NMR analyses indicated a binding mechanism where the amino terminus was required for binding and subsequently Tyr2, Ile3 and Gln4 bound in that order. The aromatic ring of Tyr2 formed a π-cation interaction with Cu²⁺.

News diversity in the media has for a long time been a foundational and uncontested basis for ensuring that the communicative needs of individuals and society at large are met. Today, people increasingly rely on online content and recommender systems to consume information challenging the traditional concept of news diversity. In addition, the very concept of diversity, which differs between disciplines, will need to be re-evaluated requiring a interdisciplinary investigation, which requires a new level of mutual cooperation between computer scientists, social scientists, and legal scholars. Based on the outcome of a multidisciplinary workshop, we have the following recommendations, directed at researchers, funders, legislators, regulators, and the media industry: 1. Do more research on news recommenders and diversity. 2. Create a safe harbor for academic research with industry data. 3. Optimize the role of public values in news recommenders. 4. Create a meaningful governance framework. 5. Fund a joint lab to spearhead the needed interdisciplinary research, boost practical innovation, develop. reference solutions, and transfer insights into practice.

Sensing enzymatic sialylation provides new tools for the evaluation of pathological events and pathogen invasion. Enzymatic sialylation is usually monitored via fluorescence or metabolic labeling, which requires relatively large amounts of the glycan substrate with limited availability. Using a label-free biosensor requires smaller quantities of substrates because the interactions induce measurable changes to an interface, which can be translated into a signal. The downside of label-free biosensors is that they are very sensitive to changes at the interface, and the properties of the surface layer can play a major role. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was used here to follow the enzymatic sialylation of a biantennary N-glycan acceptor in mixed monolayers. The surfaces contained either neutral, positively or negatively charged, or zwitterionic functional groups. The systems were characterized by contact potential difference, ellipsometry, and contact angle analyses. We found that the characteristics of the mixed monolayer have a profound effect on the biosensing of the enzymatic sialylation. Positively charged layers were found to adsorb the enzyme under the reaction conditions. Negatively charged and zwitterionic surfaces were nonresponsive to enzymatic sialylation. Only the neutral mixed monolayers provided signals that were related directly to enzymatic sialylation. This work demonstrates the importance of appropriate interface properties for monitoring enzymatic sialylation processes.

Background In Doxil®, PEGylated nanoliposomes are created by hydration of the lipids in ammonium sulfate, and are remotely loaded with doxorubicin by a transmembrane ammonium gradient. The ammonium sulfate is then removed from the external aqueous phase, surrounding the liposomes, and replaced by an isoosmotic sucrose solution in 10 mM histidine buffer at pH 6.5. Methods We prepared PEGylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) with a series of ammonium monovalent salts that after remote loading became the intraliposome doxorubicin counteranions. We analyzed the liposomes by solution X-ray scattering, differential scanning calorimetry, and electron micropscopy. Results PLDs prepared with sulfonic acid derivatives as counteranion exhibited chemical and physical stabilities. We determined the effect of these ammonium salt counteranions on the structure, morphology, and thermotropic behavior of the PEGylated nanoliposomes, formed before and after doxorubicin loading, and the bulk properties of the doxorubicin-counteranion complexes. By comparing the structure of the doxorubicin complexes in the bulk and inside the nanoliposomes, we revealed the effect of confinement on the structure and doxorubicin release rate for each of the derivatives of the ammonium sulfonic acid counteranions. Conclusions We found that the extent and direction of the doxorubicin confinement effect and its release rate were strongly dependent on the type of counteranion. The counteranions, however, neither affected the structure and thermotropic behavior of the liposome membrane, nor the thickness and density of the liposome PEG layers. In an additional study, it was demonstrated that PLD made with ammonium-methane sulfonate exhibit a much lower Hand and Foot syndrome. General significance The structure, physical state, and pharmacokinetics of doxorubicin in PEGylated nanoliposomes, prepared by transmembrane remote loading using gradients of ammonium salts, strongly depend on the counteranions.